that's what's . you're watching the station that works for you. now, good morning maryland. >> game on. it's time to throw on your purple ahead of tomorrow he's playoff game. how ravens fans are getting into the spirit and now it's time for destination denver. >> when your child gets on the bus you want to know the driver is safe behind the wheel. our investigative report got the city to step in. >> coming up this morning, new numbers out due today from the flu outbreak and cdc find out how it is spreading and what's being done to keep you and your family safe all ahead on this friday. >> i am megan pringle alongside charley crowson a lot to talk about today of course. we are going to mention a little football game that's happening tomorrow. for those of you heading to denver you want to know about the weather. but for those heading out the

doors let's start there mike. >> what's going on? >> it's pretty chilly. 35 degrees. calm wind at around 7:26. 44 in baltimore city. outside the beltway into the 30s. fred list 38. the weather headlines -- frederick is 38. the weather headlines, it turns foggy tonight and turns into a mild ride through the weekend. temperatures into the 60s. notice the clouds on top of us now. back to the south and west, a big area of low pressure over parts of indianapolis drawing in the moisture and warmth to the south. notice some showers work on maryland's most powerful radar around roanoke and charleston and these are the showers in the viewing area going into the afternoon. the hour by hour forecast looks like this. 38 around 9 in the morning. noontime 43. lots of clouds. we are covered and smoothered through the 4:00 hour. a few showers towards the evening commute. we will talk about the forecast and show you the 7-day forecast

close to 70 degrees. can you believe it lauren? >> reporter: i can't believe it. it should be pretty go. we are in january and 78 degrees. traveling on 95, no problems in howard county. it's going to take you 12 minutes from elk ridge to baltimore city and it will be nice and clear heading to dc. heading on the beltway, no problems right now on the west side. it's nice and clear from 795 all the way down to 40 and it will remain clear from parkville all the way up to towson. checking in and looking live in hunt valley at 83, everything moving along from shawan road to the beltway. and it will remain clear as you get on the jfx and head downtown. that's your traffic megan and charley over to you. we are 36 hours away from kick off that game in denver but we will see a lot of purple in the stadium coming up tomorrow. and now abc2 news jamie costello is in the mile high city and spent sometime around there with fans getting the party started. >> reporter: good morning. rain fans from baltimore have

made the trek west to denver. >> i am so excited. i seriously have been so preoccupied. i can hardly work because i keep thinking about the events and being at the game. >> it's so encouraging like to have -- dish feel like it's family coming and i feel like a piece of my heart is coming back because it's hard being against my denver broncos fans and it's great to have ravens nation. >> we cut the house in federal hill for work but when we camein for ravens games we wouldn't have to walk too far to get to the stadium. so the house is parking spot for sundays. >> this is captain crabby's crab cake. you saw him up the street. ran into him and he will be at the tailgate and fried up a crabcake. the best crab cake in denver. >> it feels like home because everybody is getting together. we have a ton of things going on. get the meat and the -- we get to meet the other people who moved out here and i love it. >> reporter: ravens fans will

continue to flock into denver today and later this afternoon the ravens will arrive. here in denver, jamie costello, good morning maryland. if you are staying here and watching the game, there's plenty to do to show your support for the rains. as always, there -- ravens. as always there's purple friday marching band. they will make several stops around town. there's going to be a purple pep rally at noon. fans are encouraged to wear ravens gear for a picture that's going to be sent to the team in denver. as you get ready this morning, you might want to think aboutthrowing on purple. you will see a lot of it no matter where you travel. >> coming up this morning, fans are hitting the road or theairheading out to denver in the mile high city. abc2 news linda so she is live getting ready. linda, you going to see the fans off this morning? >> reporter: yeah. and i have some with me this morning. and get this, they are doing something really cool for all

you other fans out there. this is brian snyder with be more around town and look what he is providing free for anyone who comes out to the haney corner deli the delicious donuts baked fresh and free coffee and pastries. thanks for being here. you guys are actually heading out to denver? >> yep we are heading out this morning. our flight leaves at 8:30 from bwi. there's a group of 20 of us heading out and we are looking forward to getting out and cheering on the ravens. >> reporter: you are going out and that's exciting. >> everyone you can tell everyone is getting antsy and the -- it's a short turn around from sunday and the phone calls have been coming in and everyone that is not going has been showing a lot of support going out there. >> reporter: you wanted to provide fans with something extra special. tell us about that. >> i wanted to -- we do a lot of purple tail gates and we are

throwing a tailgate in denver on saturday with over 100 ravens fans and wanted to give a flare and provide-- we will set up the dj which is kind of our signature move for our tailgate and road trips are kind of fully catered and we take care of everyone and we wanted to do that this morning. >> reporter: a mini pep rany at the deli by -- rally at the deli by the airport. people can coming come out from 4:30 to 7. >> and we will be supplying donuts and coffee and hot chocolate and come out and enjoy some music ravens style music hot in here do the ray dance this morning. and get your pipel play off friday going right. >> reporter: sounds good. you heard it from him. free donuts and coffee 4:30 to 7 at the deli we will be here throughout the morning. the dj is setting up now. the baker is not there right now but she was kind enough to get up to provide the fresh dough naughts i can't wait to -- dough naughts i can't wait

to taste -- doughnuts i can't wait to taste one. >> you have to do the dance. >> linda so is going to do theray lewis dance. we are so excited about the playoff run as many of you are showing off your purple pride. join us tonight for a one hour special destination denver. kelly swoope will be live with fans and jamie who is in denver will have live reports and i am going to be out at the ravens zone coming up tonight beginning at 7:00. >> it's going to be a good time. 4:37. looking at some other top stories. police are trying to figure out how a driver hit four pedestrian. they are all at shock trauma. two were seriously hurt. it happened yesterday in anne arundel county. the victims include two 16-year- old a 20-year-old and 19-year- old. police say they were found near an entrance ramp on route 100 east. the driver stayed on the scene but right now there's no word on whether or not charges will be filed.

it was broken by our investigators. school bus drivers running red lights in baltimore city. >> many were busted and that's thanks to the city's red light camera systems. but because of a loophole violators didn't have to report the citations. that may no longer be the case. >> the story on abc2 news prompted city council to step in. the school system operates some of their buses but employs contractors and those companys are -- companies are not required to report vie layings to the school system. a new law would change that that passed through a city council committee last night. >> it scared me to death who's in the yellow school bus? the littlest elementary school children rntle our special needs children, our exesion needs -- special needs children the most vulnerable people in the city. >> the vote should happen within the next few weeks. mike mass hello, is in for lynette and -- masco is in for lynette and he has a easy ride.

weather across the weekend couldn't be more perfect. >> but not the case in denver. >> it's going to be about 20 in game time. we will be into the 60s in the weekend. it's a wild swing of temperatures. we are into the 30s and 40s. on the way to a two degree guarantee of 48. late day showers after the 2:00 hour and the fog kicks in tonight. a little after 8. otherwise cloudy skies around 40 degrees. 7-day forecast, 60 degrees on saturday, we could do better than that on sunday. nice and mild and warm 67. pattern change by next week. we will talk about that coming up in a little bit. guys now onto you or lauren or you. >> all right there. you go. coming up, a story that could have had a much different outcome a story stopping a gunman. >> we will tell you how he is doing after he tried to stop a student. >> more and more people are coming down with the flu and we are working to fight it and

treat it and keep your family safe. >> are you hanging in there with your resolution to lose weight in 2013? some say eating more could help in the process. we will explain. >> reporter: 97 is night and -- nice and clear and heading to the ravens broncos game heading to the airport right now, stop in hanover with a live look at haney's deli where they have given free donuts and they are full of lots of purposeel pride. much more coming up -- purple pride. stay with us. much more coming up next.

4:42. making headlines around the nation a teacher is called a hero after another school shooting. >> a 16 yearly shot a classmate with a 12 gauge shotgun. before things spiraled out of control the teacher talked the student into giving up the shotgun. parents and students say they believe the boy was being bullied last year he was kicked out of school. >> he had a hit list of two he wanted to kill.

and i guess like last year he didn't -- he wasn't in school and got kicked out because of it i think. and people kept on trying to find out and then he got back this year and i guess this happened. >> prior to the shooting the teachers went through a drill about what to do if the shooting was in the high school. james hole almost stand trial for the deaths of 12 people inside a colorado movie theater. the emotional testimony from aurora police detectives combined with the images from the movie theater crime scene all led to the judge's decision to send this case to trial. he faces 166 individual counts including multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder. holmes will have an arraignment hearing later today. we will let you know what happens. afghan's president karzai is making rounds in washington, d.c. he is going to be at the white house with a meeting with president obama.

later, he will speak at george washington university and is expected to discuss the future of his country after u.s. troops hand over security to afghan forces. there are 66,000 u.s. troops still in the country. u.s. commanders want that up to 20,000 to stay in support of afghan forces after 2014. news time 4:44. it's a series outbreak. one that officials -- serious outbreak one that officials were not expecting to be this bad and every day more and more people are coming down with the flu. emergency rooms all over the country are swamped. schools are closed and dozens of people have passed away because of it. charley is at the live ding with more on the latest so- called epidemic. right now what are health officials doing. >> the cdc will later update the flu situation. they say this is the worst season they have had in years. and we have not hit the peak yet. 41 states reporting widespread flu activity. some places much worse than others. in one oklahoma county the vie vows is spreading so quickly all public schools are closed

today. they are saying they want to give kids a long weekend to give them a chance to rest up and give janitors a time to clean the classrooms. even though flu season is already here, doctors say you should still get the vaccine but they want you to know getting the shot doesn't mean you will not get the flu. >> the influenza vaccine is a good one but not perfect and works better in young healthy people than in older persons. and it's the best vaccine we have but there are cases of influenza that occur despite immunization. they are often of benefit because they can prevent some of the complications. it makes a more serious infection somewhat milder. >> doctors say it takes about two weeks to become fully effective and there are other preventive measures to take besides getting the flu shot. we have information here at abc2news.com a special section ab croo. 2 news.com/flu where you can go

-- abc2news.com/flu where you can find out what to do. food to build up your immunity. increase the vaccines are in demand in some places and some places have run out and say theyare not sure if they get any back. go to a pharmacy to see if they have it. a lot of them are offering the shots for free. and this morning health official say if you feel like you are coming down with the flu, do the safe thing by you and your coworkers and peers, and stay at home. >> all right good advice. and that website is helpful. there's all sorts of information on it. news time 4:46. it's the most deadly form of cancer in women but now there may be a new way to detectovarian cancer before it's too late. getting a pap smear can help detect ute ran cancer as well. the discovery is all thanks to researchers at johns hopkins. scientists used -- used the cervical fluid collected during a pamp smear -- pap er. >> and it is an ex-- smear.

it's a exciting find but they need more studies before completing it. the secret to losing weight may be to eat more. skipping meals can help you gain weight. people who don't eat breakfast tend to be heavier than those who do. that's because breakfast serves as jump-start to your metabolism and you can burn more calories through the course of the day. health officials say you should eat a hearty breakfast sensible lunch and light dinner and every 4 to five hours and include healthy snacks. >> and exercise help and today is the weekend to do it. >> mike masco, no reason to go to the treadmill this weekend. get outside and pound the pavement. >> we will hit up denny's after this and then we have work it all off over the weekend. and we will lose weight no matter what. you eat a lot and work out. that's weight loss. here's what's going on outside. beautifully lit up in purple. we are on the eve of a

hugegame. 35 degrees. 82% humidity. calm winds and we are comfortable on the chilly side. it's 44 in the city limits. going outside to the beltway or around -- we are around 37. chilly towards frederick. 32 and 30 around manchester. around the -- it's about the clouds. clouds on the increase throughout the afternoon and waiting for the arrival of the warm front down to the south. that's separating chilly air on top of us right now to mild air down to the south. and that's what is on the move as we head into the weekend. look at atlanta georgia. 63 degrees. knoxville close to 70 at this hour. that's the mild air that moves north. let's go out towards the west. 23 st. louis to 31 in -- 34 rather in denver. that cold air is barreling into the mile high city and that will be dropping the temperatures by tomorrow. so it's all about the southeast ridge. what is that doing? lifting the mild air in our direction and that will keep us on a the warm side going into the weekend. here comes showers right into the evening commute and everything will exit stage

right going into tonight. mostly cloudy skies tonight and foggy. that will be the name of the game over the next 24 hours. then we are up to 60 by the weekend. 67 on sunday. we will talk more about the forecast coming up in a little bit. let's talk traffic lauren cook how are we doing. >> reporter: we are dealing with a serious crash in carroll county in westminster on old washington road. right near liberty road. so you will want to avoid the area if at all possible. if you are heading downtown, the jfx is nice and clear and everything will remain up to speed traveling through the tunnels and those heading out to 695, as we check in and look live here south of brunning highway no problems getting across the key bridge and it will be nice and clear from parkville up to towson. here's what the beltway looks like in pikesville. green spring avenue, not too many cars. no problems getting to route 40. that's a look at your abc2 timesaver he traffic. 4 -- traffic time safer traffic. -- tame saver traffic.

-- timesaver traffic. the floor of the arena is transformed into 18,000 square feet of motocross excitement. high octane drivers are on man- made battle grounds. >> it's so close and it's not a lot of room to pass so sometimes tough get a little rough a lot of the guys go in the corners and only one comes out. >> it is a the 7 p.m. but tonight we are showing out purple pride instead. we have a ravens special airing destination denver starting at 7 so we hope you join us right here on abc2. for many of us it is payday and you could see changes. >> when you get your check, it's going to look a little smaller. why you are getting less money and what to expect. >> staying up right on the ice is hard for anyone even those with four legs. how this deer got stuck in the middle of a frozeen pond and how he made it out to safety.

consumer alert this morning. a new year and a new amount for your paycheck. don't be surprised today if your check is is a bit smaller. from now on you can expect to see on average about 40 dollars less in your paycheck all thanks to the fiscal cliff deal. that's because the payroll tax holiday on social security tax expired raising the rates from 4.2% to 6.2%. five things to know on this friday. students dropped out will get a chance to go back. the great kids come back is at baltimore city school headquarters today and tomorrow. students must be under 21 and today's session is from 9 to 4. tomorrow's is from 9 to noon. good news for college graduates. starting salary increased for those who start graduated in 2012. average salary is more than $44,000. that's the best salary increase since the class of 2008. it's considered the

superbowl ad sailing and it could be returning to charm city. on monday officials from the volvo ocean race will be in town to talk about a bid for the 2015 race. last time the city hosted was 2006 and the event drew thousands to the inner harbor. the ravens were out in denver but tributes to the team continue here in town. starting at 5:30 the marriott water front hotel will have a laser show on the front of the building. and it will have a feature of the image of ray lewis all laser like doing his dance. >> all right. maryland spca is getting into honoring the original rain withdiscounted adoption prices. today and saturday the price for all large dogs has been reduced from 125 dollars to $52. the shelter can be found on falls road. curious deer -- a curious deer realized he made a mistake on a frozen lake. >> he couldn't get back on dry land. a group of people watched as he struggled to get out a member

of colorado parks and wide life walked on the ice and threw a lasso on it and pulled it to shore. >> is that a fox? >> everybody is going out there like wild kingdom on the lake. >> watch this. >> wow. >> there's your video. >> wait a second. >> it's hard to watch. >> but those antlers are secure and they are strong part of the deer so when he pulls them out and the deer makes it off fine. >> well poor guy is scare. leave him alone. let's talk about the weather. >> he is not worried about the fox. >> a little bit. sure. he is lighter. >> he was spec tating. he was check-- spec tating. he was -- spec tating. >> was checking things out. >> good story is the temperatures how about that. 60s maybe 6not here i think south of us. we start out in the 30s in a lot of locations. clouds will be socked in.

notice how we will have to increase the chance of scattered showers moving in and cloudy skies through tonight. fog developing after 7:00. we will talk about the 7-day forecast in a little bit. let's check traffic and miss lauren cook you ready for the big game. >> reporter: i am so excited. >> you got the jersey. >> reporter: it's at my desk. if you are traveling in baltimore county everything is nice and clear on 8 3. noproblems and once you get on the j-fx and head downtown it will take 11 minutes from the beltway down to fayette street. as we look at other drive times, 695 also going to be in great shape. looking live in parkville at harford rote. inner loop clear -- road. inner loop clear and 11 minutes from 95 to 83. everything is nice and clear at the fort mchenry tunnel it will take 8 minutes northbound from the beltway to the toll plaza. that's look at your abc2 timesaver traffic megan andcharley over to you. the topic of gun control

has been a hot subject since the shooting. >> coming up this morning at 5, we are going to look at recommendations made by vice president joe biden on how to curb future gun violence. >> a robber made a mistake when he tried to hold up a grandmother working at a grocery store. how she fought back.

he can shoot spider webs from his wrist and swing across the city and wash windows and send text messages. >> hosting on facebook right there. a window washer dressed up as spiderman to cheer up patients. he used ropes and pullies not webs to scale the building. the kid patients inside and people outside were well entertained by the man's actions. some of us need help when it comes to falling asleep but there's a new warning about the side effect of some sleeping pills especially for women. >> yeah. good morning maryland at 5 starts right now with those details. >> you're watching the station that